SF mayor pushes for HIV/AIDS funds

NEWS

by Seth Hemmelgarn

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is working to restore HIV/AIDS
funding that was recently cut by the national Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

The CDC recently told the city it's cutting $1.4 million for
HIV/AIDS surveillance and prevention for the five-year grant cycle that begins
in January.

Tuesday, November 28, the mayor proposed backfilling
$700,000 to cover the gap through the 2017-18 fiscal year, and it's expected
that the city will provide similar funding again next year.

Over the years, it has become common for the CDC to cut
funding to San Francisco and for the city to make that up. However, recent
federal decreases have hit as the city works to reach the goals of its Getting
to Zero campaign: No HIV-related deaths, infection, or stigma by 2020.

"We have little control over what happens to state and
federal funding, but we are taking proactive measures to ensure critical
services in San Francisco are protected," Lee said in a statement. "Our
goal is Getting to Zero and to do that we need sustained investment and
continued commitment. By passing this budget supplemental, we are safeguarding
the health and well-being of our residents."

The money will help preserve services including linkages to
care for people who test positive, training for HIV testing counselors, and
efforts to track existing HIV cases.

Gay Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who's living with HIV, said in
an interview, "We're making great progress on Getting to Zero here, and maintaining
and sustaining our effort is essential to actually getting to zero."

Sheehy, who sits on the supervisors' Budget and Finance
Federal Select Committee, said the panel would vote on the funding Thursday.

Quickly linking people who test positive to care is
"one of the key pieces" of the city's efforts, he said.

"We know that if you're undetectable, you're uninfectious,
so the quicker we can get people into care, the quicker we can get the virus suppressed,"
said Sheehy.

Thoemmes' organization provides HIV testing services, as
well as mental health, substance use, and other work that may include HIV
prevention.

The city's funding help would mean "we can continue to
provide the level of service we're providing," she said.

Reaching the Getting to Zero goals "relies on this
foundation," said Thoemmes. "It relies on this historic support. ...
It's really a testament to the leadership of the city and the community."

In a statement, San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe
Hollendoner said, "Last week on World AIDS Day our community honored those
lost in the early days of the epidemic and we pledged our commitment to ending
the epidemic for everyone. Our progress has been enabled by the steadfast
commitment of the City and County of San Francisco to fund HIV prevention,
care, and housing services. We thank Mayor Lee and the Board of Supervisors for
their steadfast support, which becomes increasingly important as political
pandemonium continues in Washington."

Along with money for HIV/AIDS, Lee's proposed $9.6 million supplemental
will also cover funding for in-home support services and support for recipients
of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known as DACA. DACA has
helped some people avoid deportation, and the city is helping to cover
application fees for the program.

The city's two-year budget includes a $10 million state and
federal impacts reserve to cover unexpected shortfalls stemming from changes at
the state and federal level.

Since the 2012-13 fiscal year, San Francisco officials have
backfilled $14.9 million in cuts to CDC and Ryan White HIV/AIDS funding to the
city's Department of Public Health.